


I'll keep you safe

by youwishpreppy



Series: Joavin Jailbreak [8]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 19:15:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16771207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youwishpreppy/pseuds/youwishpreppy





	I'll keep you safe

_23\. “They didn’t deserve you.”_  
53\. “I’ll keep you safe.”  
  
If two months ago someone had told Kevin that he would help several guys escape from juvie he would have told them they were absolutely crazy. And if someone had told him that he would see Joaquin again, he would have laughed at them and shook his head sadly, knowing full well that it was over and Joaquin was just a memory. A memory Kevin had tried to forget but never been able to do fully. A memory that always came crawling back when he lay awake at night, a memory that came back when Moose once again pushed Kevin away. But still, just a memory of a much happier time.  
  
But of course, everything was different now. Kevin helped Veronica break Archie out of juvie and got the surprise of his life when his ex-boyfriend stumbled into his arms. The rest of the night was a rush, too much adrenaline pumping through Kevin’s body, too many emotions raging inside him, after seeing Joaquin again. But somehow they ended up in the little cabin in the woods that Kevin’s dad used for hunting. Kevin had just dragged Joaquin with him, needing to get him to safety.  
  
He made Joaquin sit down on the bed and pulled out a first aid kit and took care of Joaquin’s injuries, shocked to see the scars and fresh cuts on his face. But Kevin knew how to tend wounds, his dad had made sure to teach him all about it. And so he worked focused until Joaquin was fixed up again.  
  
They stared at each other for a long time until Kevin broke the silence, his voice sounding creaky and small,  
  
“You are back…”  
  
And they spent the rest of the night talking. Joaquin told Kevin his story, everything that had happened since he had left Riverdale last year. Kevin had never heard him talk so much. It seemed as if Joaquin needed to come clear in front of him.   
  
He told Kevin about how hard his life had been in San Junipero, how lonely he was, how often he got into trouble, how he had just been able to get back on his feet again only for FP to order him back to Riverdale and then the riot night and how he had ended up in juvie.   
  
The fights in the beginning, finding his place among the other juvie guys, the things he had to do to survive, to become the leader of the Serpents in there. And of course the fighting pit, weeks spent working out and hoping that it would be enough to win, but knowing deep down that he wasn’t supposed to win, that they wanted to get rid of the leader of a gang.  
  
Kevin had never seen Joaquin like that, crying and hugging himself while he told Kevin his story. And Kevin pulled him into his arms and rubbed his back soothingly, held Joaquin and made sure that he knew that he wasn’t alone.  
  
“I am so scared Preppy. What if they find me and throw me back into juvie? I will not survive it another time. They will make sure of that…”

Kevin started to cry too at that. Joaquin was usually so strong and to see him like this, hurt and broken, crying and admitting out loud how scared he was, was breaking Kevin’s heart. And he felt a strong need to protect this boy.

He hugged him even tighter and whispered soothingly to him.  
  
“Don’t worry, please. _**I’ll keep you safe.**_ ”

Joaquin buried his head in Kevin’s shoulder and mumbled against his sweater,

“But why? Why do you want to help me after everything I have done?”  
  
“Because I care about you. You don’t deserve any of those bad things happening to you. I won’t let anyone hurt you… You can stay here until things have calmed down. I am sure Veronica and Archie’s mom will find a way. I guess exposing a secret fight club will shut that juvie down anyways and I don’t think they will arrest you again after all that…It will be ok, Joaquin.”  
  
Kevin held Joaquin in his arms for the rest of the night, stroking his back, whispering in his ear, telling him his story too, and he realized that he also didn’t have a lot of good things to tell about. It seemed as if ever since Joaquin and Kevin had been forced apart, both their lives had been heading down a dark road.  
  
The following weeks were spent in a constant cycle of going to school and then heading over to the cabin every other day. Kevin even bought Joaquin a phone so they could communicate when Kevin couldn’t come to visit him. At first, it was just simple texts like: _“Do you need another blanket?”_ but then it gradually became something else, and their texts went back to the little flirty messages they had always sent each other last year. _“Where are you Preppy? I am cold, hold me until I am warm again.”_  
  
Making butterflies fly in Kevin’s stomach and grinning madly. He recognized the symptoms, of course. He was falling in love with Joaquin all over again. His dad commented several times on Kevin’s smile and asked him if Kevin was seeing someone. Kevin had just shrugged and smiled and said nothing. But the truth was that yes, he was seeing someone, his ex who was gradually becoming his boyfriend again.  
  
They got closer each time they met, and after a few days they went from holding each other to kissing again, and it blew Kevin away how good Joaquin’s lips felt on his again. Once they started to kiss, they couldn’t stop again, and it seemed almost as if they were making up for all the lost time, kissing for hours, gentle, slow kisses, followed by heated, hungry kisses, which resulted in them pulling at each other’s clothes. And Kevin decided that there were definite advantages to meeting your boyfriend in a cabin in the middle of the woods, far away from prying eyes and ears.  
  
It was after one of those make-out sessions when they were lying lazily in bed, cuddled up in each other’s arms when Joaquin asked softly:  
  
“Were you seeing someone, while I was away?”  
  
“Yes, kind of. I went cruising in Fox Forest…and I met several guys I tried to get closer too after making out with them, but they weren’t interested. Either closeted or just not interested in a relationship, so nothing came of that. But I was dating Moose over the summer.”  
  
“Moose? But you told me that he is in the closet too. Did he come out?”  
  
“Nope, that was the problem. I mean I can’t really blame him. His dad is a bit much you know? I felt bad about pressuring him into outing himself, but it just hurt to have to hide our relationship. I wanted someone who would hold my hand in public and take me to parties and kiss me in front of the whole school… Moose couldn’t give me that. I broke up with him when I realized that we would just hurt each other if we kept going on. So yeah, it was just like it always was… I was good enough to fool around with, but not good enough to be an official boyfriend.”  
  
“Those guys were idiots! _**They didn’t deserve you.**_ Honestly, Kevin, they didn’t even realize how lucky they were to get a chance with you!”  
  
Kevin chuckled softly and pulled Joaquin closer until he was resting his head on Kevin’s shoulder, and Kevin could pet his hair.  
  
“It doesn’t matter anymore. _They_ don’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you came back. Noone would stand a chance against you anyways.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
“Yep, there’s only you. Everyone else is just second best.”  
  
“Well… you are very lucky then that your boy number one is here to stay.”  
  
“Damn lucky!”  
  
They both chuckled, and Joaquin lifted his head to look at Kevin. And Kevin saw the way Joaquin’s eyes sparkled, saw the way Joaquin smiled from one ear to the other, saw how happy Joaquin looked. And he knew that the same expression was mirrored on his face


End file.
